Five new international flights from Vizag by Oct

Visakhapatnam: Five new international flight operators evinced keen interest to begin their operations from Visakhapatnam by the end of October. The new operators would be Air Arabia, Mihir Lanka, Air India, Air Asia and Fly Dubai.

President of the Air Travellers' Association of India D Varada Reddy speaking exclusively to The Hans India said the aviation sector in Visakhapatnam received a boost in recent months with the international and domestic connectivity going up. However, the growth was not on expected lines, he added. More domestic flights are needed to connect to different parts of the country, he said and added the quantum of passenger growth was 1 million in 2012 and by the year 2015, it would cross 1.5 million.

Air Arabia is asking for the 4 am slot and once the modalities are worked out, they would start operations to Sharjah. Mihir Lanka plans to operate between Vizag-Colombo and back, likewise Air India plans for Delhi-Vizag-Bangkok flight. While Air Asia plans to schedule their flight from Vizag to Kuala Lumpur and back, Fly Dubai plans a direct flight from Vizag to Dubai, Varada Reddy said.

A few foreign operators are in touch with us and everything should fall in place by October 2013, he said.The travelling profile of the Vizag passengers is unique unlike the other travelling passengers, he said. They travel to all parts of the world. Thanks to the multi-national companies Brandix and Hospira and other export-oriented companies in the Special Economic Zone. Foreign experts and techinicians of oil exploration firms like ONGC, Cairns India, Reliance, and employees of the expansion projects at Hindustan Shipyard and Visakhapatnam Steel Plant have helped in the constant flow of air traffic, he said.

Most of the ships have their crew signing off at Visakhapatnam and that helped in the increase in air traffic.

Samuel Tatikonda